How To Everything

 4:07 AM

I've never been much of a sleeper. I get by on about five hours, though. I prefer six. Every now and again I come home exhausted and I will plop down on my bed and try to nap. I usually end up staring at the ceiling and then answering emails or reading.

There was a time when I didn't let these extra hours go to waste. If I couldn't sleep, like this morning, I would get up and do something. I would usually write. I have written over twenty books, at least as many screenplays, hundreds of poems and short stories and essays. 

As my new business, which requires that I start very early, has grown, I've abandoned my productive ways. I lay in bed and ponder when I can't sleep. Pondering is nice. Action is nicer.

We were closed for Spring Break last week. I woke up early and wrote every day. I completed a collection of nine short stories that I plan to eventually publish. I also got a lot done around the house as we are in the middle of a renovation. I spent time with my wife. I walked my dogs. I had dinner with friends. I cleaned my pizza oven. I got stuff done. I also read two books.

I listen to audio books. It's a great time-saver and it's easy on my eyes, which are 50 years old and counting. I still do read the old fashioned way, which is not easy on the eyes, but is something I can't live without and a big reason I am a moderately successful person.

I have two very close friends. One, I've known for about twenty years, the other for nearly forty. The three of us keep in contact via a group text. I admit I am often lost as they spend a great deal of time discussing the TV shows they are watching. I watch TV, but not nearly enough to keep up with the average American. I try to be productive instead.

I have no patience for people who whine about not having time to do anything with their lives, but are up to date with the latest shows, or can tell you who in America's got talent. Not crazy about people who say they're broke but can tell you what to order at all the trendy restaurants. Those people drive the nicest cars, have the best clothes and the latest gadgets.

I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy nice things, I am saying you need to invest in yourself. You need to care about your life as much as you care about the lives of others. You need to treat your limited time with respect. You must treat time like the valuable, non-renewable resource it is. You must invest in yourself, rather than just treat yourself.

I hear too many people whining about how hard it is to get ahead, then watch them drive off in a car they can barely afford to an overpriced rented home to watch four hours of TV while overpaying for mediocre food that was Ubered to their home. Never once do they think to take time to learn a skill or read a book or get a part time job or start a business or a side hustle.

I have no pity for you. Live with your choices. In fact, we all live with our choices, so start making better ones.

I'm a little grumpy this morning. It's been a while since I've gotten out of my warm bed to write this early.

Adolfo Jimenez is an entrepreneur, author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here. Adolfo is the co-owner of The Cafeteria Company, a commissary outsourcing firm. He also co-owns Soup -n- Sam, Le Velo Macaron, and Starlight Catering.

Why Dreams Matter More Than Reality

I am a business owner. I enjoy what I do. I enjoy making decisions. I like the fact that people depend on the services I provide and the paychecks I sign. It's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. One of the most rewarding. Not the most rewarding. 

I am, behind the entrepreneur/business owner facade, an artist. I am a writer. I am a performer. I enjoy getting up in front of a crowd and presenting whatever it is I'm presenting. I've been a corporate trainer. I taught a comedy class. I've done improvisational comedy. I've made corporate presentations. I've given political speeches and invocations.

If I had my druthers, I would write all morning and dazzle audiences all night. I haven't my druthers. I have... priorities. I have responsibilities and I have commitments. My dreams must continue to be on hold. This is a situation of my own making. I took a seat on this runaway train. I must remain seated until it runs out of steam or goes off the rails.

It's a sad feeling to know that you made the wrong turns. It's sad to know that you zigged when you should have zagged. There's no choice like no choice. I can't blame anyone else. I allowed it to happen. I was not just a passenger on the train. Oftentimes, I was the conductor. Make the decision now, before you're painted into a corner. Make the decision while the decision is still yours to make. If you allow the world to make it for you, it will probably be a decision you won't like.

The world is a screwy place. We don't know what tomorrow brings and we don't know if we'll be here to see it. We only know where we've been and where we are at the moment... sometimes. It's important to pursue your goals and keep dreaming your dreams. Pursue them, too. Make your dreams your goals. Or, at least, make your goals rest stops on the way to your dreams. Do it and you may get there. If you make it, that's great. If you don't, at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you did your best and that your life was spent in pursuit of attaining your highest purpose, not something as common as money. The pursuit of happiness is all that matters.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here.

The New Cool

Spend a little time on social media and it's hard to see how cynicism has become the new cool. I will admit that I am something of a cynic. I was first told this when I was about nineteen years old. I dated a woman in her late twenties (I was mature for my age.) She was intelligent and sophisticated and had a couple of college degrees. I did my best to keep up but when you lack education, as I did at the time, you try to follow along as best you can. (I am still much less educated than I would like to be, but them's the breaks!)

When she called me a cynic, I wasn't a hundred percent sure of what it meant. I know now, and I guess I could say I am a part-time cynic. I spend a lot of time around politics, I read some news on occasion, and I have a Facebook account. How could I not be?

But there is a side of me that wants there to be meaning to everything. There's a part of me that looks for meaning and even tries to create meaning in the most ordinary of things.

But it's so easy to be a cynic. It's practically forced upon us. We're told to hurry, to move along. We're convinced we don't have time to be kind and thoughtful even as we sit on the couch and binge-watch every episode of "Friends" for the third time. Humor, real humor, has been replaced with sarcasm. Good deeds are viewed, you guessed it, cynically.

I think I'll try to become a little less cynical. I'll do my best to see things in a more open and accepting way. I'll try to prove that old girlfriend wrong. Not that's she'll notice. We haven't talked in decades and she'd probably on season whatever of the latest must-see rerun. Oops! There I go again!

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here.

What If I Don't Like Cake?

Today is my 50th Birthday! Holy crap, when you say it like that. All the cliches apply. I don't feel any different. I look the same as I did yesterday. Everything still works the same, for the most part.

I used to refer to my birthday as inventory day. I would take the day to reflect on the previous 365 days and determine if my life was moving in the right direction. Some people call it a Cake Day. I don't think that's fair to people who don't like cake. I love cake. Don't believe me? I can take my shirt off to prove it. We re-brand everything. This is nothing new, it's just that our re-branding, like everything else, happens faster than it used to. You hardly get used to the new word for something before it becomes the old world for something.

My wife and I have been together 21 years. We realized a couple of days ago, as we were signing documents for work to be done on our house, that it was the 18th anniversary of the day we moved in. It's nice to know that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Being married to the same woman and living in the same house for so long may sound unexciting to some, but I am happy and grateful, and while there have been some low points, we really manage to keep it exciting, fresh, and interesting. We never had a honeymoon, so we decided our life now will be one very long honeymoon with breaks for work and family, etc. Life gave us lemons. We froze them for a while and now we're making margaritas!

Now that I'm at the half-century mark, I am supposed to have new perspectives and wisdom. I don't. My philosophy and worldview did not change overnight. From this point of view, age is really just a number. My knees may disagree.

I got my convertible a few years ago. This year, I got a motorcycle. Who knows what sixty will bring?

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here.

The Gray Hours

 The greatest con ever perpetrated against humanity, is convincing people that time is not precious. I am nearly fifty years old. Statistically, I have lived more than half the years I will get to live. I find myself in the interesting spot of anticipating my regrets. I am proactively thinking of things to put in the bucket list so I don't end up regretting things I didn't do.

I have always been an early riser. I also get by on relatively little sleep. I learned long ago to put this to my advantage though I need to remind myself of this every now and then. I need to remind myself that just because the day starts early for me, doesn't mean I get more time. I get 24 hours like everyone else. Wasting the extra hours I don't spend sleeping makes no sense. Might as well sleep.

I am in my new office, at my new desk in my house. I am in the gray early morning with a window to my left that faces east. The sun is up somewhere out there but it's still warming up so there is more shadow than light in this little room. Everyone else in my house is asleep. Even the dogs want nothing to do with the day. I'm glad for it. This is the part of time that belongs to me.

So, use your time wisely. Even when there is nothing that needs doing, don't waste your life doing nothing.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here.

An Earned Advantage

I'm sitting at my dining room table reading an article. My wife is leaning on the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in her hands. It's Saturday. We have the day off. There is a man crawling around our attic installing a new central air conditioner.

I share my thoughts on the article with my wife and she tells me I am a smart cookie. I'm not sure I agree. I have an advantage over many people, though. I know how to read. I earned that advantage. It's not like being born tall and good-looking. I don't have those unearned advantages. My parents made sure I can read. That I enjoy reading and devote significant time to it, may be something I earned, or may be something I was born with.

Because I am a man who will look for any advantage he can get, I tell my wife that the only real proof of my intelligence is that I married her. She smiles, walks over and kisses me. I steal her coffee. What do you know about that? I am smart!

I never finished high school. I got my GED at 24 and took some classes at the community college. No degree. But I read every day. I read books, magazines, newspapers, anything I can get my hands on. This has been my advantage. I learned what I wanted to learn, what I felt would be useful; not what a college administrator wanted me to learn. I'm better for it. And... no debt!

If you're taking the time to read this, you may share that same earned advantage. In which case, good for you, and thanks for stopping by!

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here.

Something About A Horse

If you’ve never ridden a horse, you probably should try it. The younger you are, the better. It’s hard on the knees and the hips. It’s also tough to know that your life is in the hands of an animal that can throw you off and trample you in a heartbeat. If it was so inclined.

As I write this, I can feel the pain in my knees subsiding. I spent three hours on a horse this morning. I am in Montana, one of my favorite and least favorite places in the world. I love it here because it is beautiful and it’s where my daughter lives. I hate it here because the beauty and nature of the place makes me forget that guys with knees as bad as mine probably shouldn’t ride horses up in the mountains for three hours.

Not that I won’t do it again. I will do it until the pain gets to be too much or until the wranglers sit me down and tell me that this particular horse has gone to pasture. I did not grow up around horses. I went on my first horse ride two years ago. I am not sure if I’ll be back. 

But you should definitely give it a try. It’s fun and it’s a nice, relaxing way to give up control for a while. It’s nice to be a passenger and not a driver. I am not speaking for experienced horsemen and women when I say this, but you are never really in control when riding a horse. You are driving in the rain at night in  a car with bald tires. You might get through it in one piece but no one would be shocked if you come home with a busted collarbone. You can kick the horse to make it move. You can pull the reins to stop it or pull them left or right to steer the horse. But these are just suggestions. If the horse doesn’t want to cooperate, it won’t. I don’t know about you, but I don’t kick that hard.

Of course, if you do get through it, if you are able to relax enough to enjoy being a passenger, if you are able to live in that particular moment, listen to the birds, admire the trees and feel the breeze in your face, you might come away with a different perspective. You might find something you didn’t know you were looking for.

 

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here.

My Rules: Part One

 I'm exhausted. I just got into Bozeman, Montana at about midnight. I was too tired to go directly to sleep. I was up at six AM because my body is still on Florida time. Jet lag is a real thing. I am in Montana this time because my eldest daughter will be starting at Montana State University in a week. We're moving her in. I'll be heading back alone to an empty house. Even the dogs are with a sitter so they won't be there to greet me. Careful what you wish for. I do enjoy my alone time, but I'm no different than anyone else in that I want everything on my own terms. My daughter finishing high school a year early and moving far from home is something to be proud of. I just wish I could rearrange the terms. I'd like her to stay home until shes ninety. Just kidding. There I go not being careful what I wish for.

I am sitting at the little desk in the room. My laptop is open. The familiarity ends there. The desk is cluttered with all kinds of stuff. An ice bucket, a small coffee pot, my backpack, a purse, a hat. I look up from my screen to see me staring back at me. If I was prettier, that may be a perk, but mirrors distract me as I am as conceited as anyone else. I wonder if I look good for my age. The light of the screen isn't flattering, and I don't. I look old. Maybe I'm tired. Maybe I'm a little sad. Maybe I should avert my eyes lest I depress myself further.

This has me thinking of my personal rules for writing. I've never articulated them. I do have them, I know I do, but they're ingrained in me. They don't require review. I don't need to check them before writing like a pilot reviews a checklist before takeoff. I just do. So, here goes:

1. Eliminate distractions. Seems pretty simple, right. I'm not just talking about barking dogs and screaming kids. If you're an insecure narcissist like me, don't have a mirror. If you're a news junkie, or a social media junkie, disable your internet and leave your phone in another room. It's not that it becomes impossible to focus, it's just that focusing in an environment littered with distractions takes energy. This energy is better applied to your writing, or painting or crocheting, or whatever. By the way, Cafes aren't the best place to write, but they are a good place to be seen, which can be a helluva distraction.

2. Make yourself comfortable. If you're chair is too low or too high or the light is too bright or too dim or the room is too cold, you're not going to be at your best. Set yourself up for success, not disappointment.

3. Schedule your workday. Writing, or any artistic or entrepreneurial endeavor that you're pursuing on spec, should have a time dedicated to it. I am a morning person. I usually wake up around five and start writing around six and go until just before nine. Sometimes I put in a little overtime. Sometimes I run out of steam early. Sometimes, I don't follow rule number one and I end up wasting two hours reading news or making sure my coffee is just right or telling my dogs how much I love them. If you don't devote time to your craft, or to any goal, it's just a wish, and a dream, and this is the real world. This ain't no fairy tale.

4. The work matters more than the title. I've met plenty of would-be writers who love saying they are writers. They love wearing turtlenecks and slurring their words a la Gore Vidal or acting uncomfortable in social situations like David Foster Wallace. They should all try to be a little more like J.D. Salinger. No one is impressed by you saying you're a writer. I could say I'm a doctor but I promise you don't want me removing your gall bladder. I wouldn't trust me to cut your fingernails. The doctor is the person who did the work. They went to med school, they did their residency and rotations and all that jazz. They've earned the title. Why would writing be any different?

I'm sure there will be more to this. Consider this essay, like its author, a work in progress. But this is just me. Write your own rules, and don't break them. Shatter them! But only if you find they are holding you back.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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What's easy not to do

I've been thinking of creating a new website. I've also been looking to team up with an editor who could work closely with me. I've been looking for a web designer, too. 

In this day and age there is no reason for me to be thinking about these things and not getting them done so I put out a feeler on Facebook, asking for my creative peeps to reach out. They did.

Now begins a new chapter in my life.

Follow me to Apresterra!

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Swimmin' Without Women

It's Tuesday morning. It's cold in my house. Not because of anything having to do with the climate or the environment. The A/C is blasting as it will all summer. It's actually pretty warm outside although it's not even 8:00 AM. 

I sit down at my computer to write as I do most mornings and I am a little more awake than I might otherwise be. It's not the coffee. It's the pool. I took a little swim this morning. I was letting out the dogs (I guess I've answered that Baja Men question - sorry, it had to be done!) and I decided to do something a little different. I stripped out of my boxers, stepped into my trunks, and went for a dip. I would have preferred to go in my birthday suit but I don't have that level of privacy in my yard, unfortunately. Time to build a taller fence.

I didn't go into the pool with any kind of agenda. I didn't tell myself I'd swim ten laps or do that aqua-aerobics stuff they do at the YMCA pool. I just floated around and listened to the world waking up. I heard the sounds of cars on the road. I heard road construction a couple of blocks away. It was just me and my ears. 

It's a good thing to go out once in a while and just be. You don't need music or even a companion. My dogs were living their own lives, not worrying about me. My family is inside asleep. There is nothing but me and the water and that is all I need. It's a nice transition from asleep to the hectic action that follows on any given day. 

I tried to guide my thoughts toward projects I'm currently working on but nothing doing. I let it go, It was too early and the water was too calm and too warm for anything structured. I let my thoughts go where the wind and the leaves and the noise of the world led them. And that was all right. I'll be out there again tomorrow. Maybe without my bathing suit... maybe not.

Find your quiet spot. Enjoy it. Soak it up a while. 

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Gathering Information

I just came back from a week in West Yellowstone, Montana. It is, without a doubt, one of my favorite places in the world. I stayed in a cabin on a ranch. I rode horses and went whitewater rafting. I went to Yellowstone National Park and to Mesa Falls in Idaho. It was a great, badly-needed vacation. As much as I love my home, my bed, my pillow and my dogs, I hated coming back.

This was my second visit to West Yellowstone. I came back from my first trip very inspired and immediately began writing a novel about the place. I hit the wall at about a hundred pages. So, I went up this year thinking I would find the spark and get the story written finally!

I skipped one of the horse rides we had scheduled so I could get to work on my story. I wrote about a thousand words. A whole new story about the same place. That was a week ago. I've given up... for now!

I think the problem is that I'm trying to force the book to happen. It never works that way. These things come when they want to come. It's not that I haven't been writing. I've been working every day and I've been editing. The story needs a little more time to percolate. Or maybe it needs to marinate. Whatever it is, it doesn't need to be forced. That's a great way to kill what could be a great story.

Gather the facts, breathe the air, feel the breeze, see the sights. Listen to the people talk and learn their stories. Their stories become yours. These people become the characters in your stories. You are not stealing from them, you are immortalizing them. Nobody wants to live forever, but nobody wants to die. And certainly no one wants to be forgotten.

So take notes and bide your time. The story will come when it's ready.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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The New Guy

On Thanksgiving day 2019, I left my house, planning to go to the grocery store. We have a tradition in my house. My wife will always forget at least one ingredient for the feast and I will brave the wilds of the local Winn-Dixie to procure said ingredient.

As I went into the front yard, my daughter in tow, I saw a little dog in my yard. Alone. Long story short, we rescued him, tried to find the owner and couldn't so now he is part of the family. He was sick and underweight when we found him. He seems to have been abused and is suffering from trauma around food and being crowded. Sudden moves will startle him. The people who owned him were bastards. It's taken time and treasure, but Maximus Achilles Jimenez is close to being a normal dog. He's still a jerk sometimes, but so is everyone else.

Then, last Saturday, I got the news that a new dog was coming to join the family. His name is Mason. He is a Golden Retriever mix and outweighs Max the chiweenie by about 40 pounds. Max is under five pounds. Not a fair fight. Still, Max is pretty fearless and stands his ground, even if Mason swats him around like a rubber ball, in a friendly, brotherly way but still... it has to be hard on the little guy's ego.

These dogs are a distraction. They are a severe pain in the ass. And, please don't tell them, I love them very much.

Life is better with a dog. Of this, there is no doubt. I am actually allergic to dogs, but it's worth it. The happiness outweighs the itchiness. I can scratch.

The challenge for me is fitting the extra responsibility in with my work. I work at home and I need something near silence. It's hard to get that when I have two yelping madmen losing their minds every time a cat, duck, squirrel or pedestrian dares to walk past my house.

It's only been a few days so we're all getting used to a new routine. Soon, we'll be all right and when we are,  the fun will really start.



Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He has published eight books. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He published four books in 2019, which you can find here.

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Listening

I love books. Even before I realized I wanted to be a writer, I was always a reader. I have owned, lost, and donated thousands of books. I have borrowed and lent books. I have read books and I have listened to books. Books have made me laugh, made me cry, and pissed me off. Many have put me to sleep and many have kept me up.

I read every morning and every night. Sometimes, if my schedule permits, I read in between those times. I also listen to audio books. I don't spend hours on news, TV, radio, or print. I get the headlines, read a couple of stories that interest me, and I move on. I don't need or want that kind of negativity in my life!

I work from home so I no longer have a commute, unless you count the ten steps from my bedroom to my office. So, I listen to books while I walk my dog. I get through an extra book every week or two this way. I also listen in the shower, and when I'm alone doing things at home. Why waste the time when I can spend it absorbing some of the great art in the world?

But today, when I was walking Max, I felt an urge to shut off my book, remove my earbuds, and listen to the world. There was so much to hear. There were so many sounds of life happening all around me, not far from where I sleep at night. I heard stories and I heard voices and I felt life.

So don't be afraid to turn off the radio or the TV and just listen. The world has secrets to tell you.




Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida with his family.  He has published eight books, which you can find here. 

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Losing Linnie

We lost a pet this morning. Our guinea pig Linnie died some time during the night. Linnie was a unique little furball. Black with some brown smudges here and their and her hair was all cowlicks so she was always a mess. Another thing about Linnie: She was a boy.

When we got her, about two years ago, we were told she (he) was a girl. About a year later, we confirmed he (she) was a boy. We found this out when we got her (him) a boyfriend. His name is Milton. It turns out Milton and Linnie are not gay. They didn't get along too well at first as they each tried to establish dominance. They worked it out and settled into a bromance that sadly ended this morning.

Linnie became short for Linnard.

My wife and daughters handled Linnie all the time. Linnie loved to be carried by them. Such was his macho heterosexuality that I could never carry him. I am also allergic to animal hair so I didn't try too hard, but I did love feeding the boys carrots and grapey-grapes. They were never shy about yelling for food whenever they heard or saw you go near the kitchen. They were furry little fatties, and they are part of the family.

Now, it's up to Milton to squeak for carrots and grapes. It's up to him to be held and loved. I'm sure he misses his friend.

What is it about an animal that makes them so special? They are with us  for a relatively short time and then they're gone but the mark they leave on our heart is like a permanent scar left by a sudden flash of an event.

We buried Linnie in the yard next to our dog Baxter, who died last year after being with us for over twelve years. I miss that guy, too. There's a new dog now. His name is Max. We rescued him quite accidentally on Thanksgiving. Baxter left huge shoes to fill, but I think Max will hold his own.

I'm going to go lay in bed and cry for a while. Hug those you love. All time is borrowed.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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The Business Part 3

This is the third part of a series on the business of writing. Click here to go to Part One.


Too many wannabe writers are in love with the idea of being known as a writer. They are not in love with the lonely drudgery of writing. Singers and actors get on stage and are cheered and adored, or jeered and booed. But at least they are known. When Andy Warhol promised those fifteen minutes of fame, he excluded most writers.

My point is that you have to write if you want to be a writer. You have to put out a page a day. I don't care if it's a good page. Ernest Hemingway said the first draft of anything is shit. He was right. Sometimes it's better quality shit than other times, but it's still shit.

So you sit down and write a page a day. You do this for 200 days. You have a first draft. Guess what? It's shit! Let it go for a while. Put it out of your mind. Think of other things. Get drunk. Get stoned. Get laid. Definitely get laid if possible.

After you've done other things and taken your mind off the work, come back to it with fresh eyes. It's time to write. Remember that words are cheap. A word means little by itself. It's when we put it in the right place with other words that it starts to mean something. What I mean to tell you is that you shouldn't be afraid to delete a word. Or a sentence. Or a paragraph. Or even an entire chapter. Don't be afraid to replace words or move them around. Ditto sentences and paragraphs. Nothing is  sacred. Don't be a little pussy. Just edit it.

So it's been a year since you started this book. You've done your first re-write. Are you ready to send it to the publisher? Hell no. Put it away. Get drunk. Get stoned. Get laid. The manuscript ain't going nowhere.

Come back to it a couple of weeks or even a month or two later. Rewrite it again. Be ruthless. Words mean nothing until they are put in the right order.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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Your Audience

I write every day. Writing is a lonely life. I start work about five o'clock most mornings. Sometimes, I start a little later, waiting until my wife and daughters are gone. I usually do very little on Saturdays for some reason and on Sundays, I review, edit, and write.  This is not a strict schedule. It's something I try to stick to. I have a day job and this is always in the back of my mind so I work with a very specific sense of urgency. I have to shower and shave and get to the office. I have only so many hours to invest in writing each morning.

So, it's a lonely life and of course, I am the worst audience. I am the most biased of judges when it comes to my work. I hate every word of it.

But every once in a while, I read some of my work to my wife, or to my guinea pigs or to myself, and I am pleased with myself. I am reminded of why I take the time to do this. I remember why the isolation and the frustration never seem to be enough to scare me away. I remember why I write.

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published eight books, which you can find here.

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The Friends We Listen To

I like to work in silence. I don't play music. I sit at my desk in my home and I write in silence. I don't like a lot of activity around me so I don't sit in a cafe. I am too easily distracted, so I try to minimize the distractions. My wife and daughters leave early in the morning so I can squeeze in a couple hours of work before the world squeezes in on me.

But once in a while, I like to have a little background noise. Never a TV or anything. Usually a little music. I will choose music I'm not inclined to sing along to. If I sing along, I am not working. Writing is creative work, not busy work. It's not an automatic thing like making your bed or mowing the lawn. I always listen to an audiobook or music when doing household chores. I even take my phone into the shower with me so I can listen to a book as I shower, shave, brush my teeth and make myself pretty. Okay, I'm never pretty, but at least I can minimize the ugliness.

But I am choosy about what I listen to. Classical is great to play while writing because you can't sing along to it. Classical music conveys feelings and abstract shapes without words. Perfect for writing.

The important thing is to avoid distractions. Distractions kill creativity, so it is important to kill the distractions.  This is why I don't work in coffee shops. Coffee shops are for coffee and conversation. I work in silence. I work in my home. When I'm travelling, I work in my hotel room. Writing is a private enterprise. Writing in front of people is for those who want to be seen or thought of as writers, but don't actually want to write.

You do the work. Let your words get the glory.


Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!

The Black Water

I get sad sometimes. I mean, everybody gets sad sometimes. I get depressed. Yesterday, a friend of mine showed me a meme he'd seen on Instagram. It showed the faces of entertainers who have committed suicide. These were people who were outwardly happy and seemed to have it all. He told me the meme made him think of me. Because I tend to be the class clown. I strike people as being impossibly happy - until I'm not.

I am a joker. I am happy-go-lucky. I've had people half my age call me a child. I out-kid my kids. But now and then I find myself swimming in the black water. Sometimes, it happens for no reason that I can name. Sometimes, it is triggered. It's always fairly debilitating.

The important thing is that I've learned enough about myself to recognize when I'm swimming in the black water, and I can deal with it. I try to work as I normally would to keep my mind occupied. I keep my distance from people. I don't want them to hurt me and I don't want to hurt them. I endure. No drugs, prescription or otherwise. I take a little time and I work through the issues, if there are any, and I occupy my mind.

I'm not saying that people who suffer from depression shouldn't get help. I'm a big believer in therapy. I believe in having a support system. I believe in self awareness.

So, if you are like me in the sense that every now and then you get depressed and feel hopeless or lost, please don't let yourself believe that it's a situation with no way out. There is always a way out and as Robert Frost said, "The best way out is through."

For a writer, everything can be fuel for the fire. Even the things that feel like the opposite of fuel. Sometimes art comes from pain, and the light shines in the dark places. Don't be afraid to package your sadness, your pain, your anger, your fear, and even your happiness into a story, a painting, a poem, or a song. Everything's been said before, but not by you. It is your uniqueness and personal life experience that separate you from the billions of people you share the planet with. Sharing that point of view will enrich the world and will serve as therapy for you. Trust me. I just did it.



Adolfo Jimenez is a writer living against his will in Hollywood, Florida.  His latest release is Scenes from a 1979 Ford Fairmont, a short book of poems. Get it on Amazon!

Check him out here!